.Although self-styled “reformer” John McCain has piously declared that he has “never, ever done a favor for any lobbyist or special interest group,” his record in Congress demonstrates otherwise. In fact, thanks to McCain, only one special interest group benefits from the vaunted campaign “reform” measures that McCain pushed through Congress. The most influential newspaper voice of the pro-Israel lobby inAmerica—the New York-based weekly Forward— bragged on Nov. 8, 2002 that “Jewish interest groups may be the big winners” under the vaunted McCain-Feingold campaign finance “reform” measures that went into effect upon the close of the 2002 election cycle. Although Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and his colleague, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) postured as “good government types” by sponsoring the media-touted campaign finance reform legislation, the truth is—at least if Forward is to be believed—that this “reform” measure would only benefit the electioneering activities of the organized American Jewish community. In this regard, Forward asserted flatly:

Political hands say groups such as the Republican Jewish Coalition and its counterpart, the National Jewish Democratic Council, not-for-profits unaffected by the ban on “soft money” for political campaigns, are poised to be big beneficiaries of the new [campaign finance legislation] regime.

The new strength in organized Jewish political power as a consequence of McCain’s legislative legerdemain came at the expense of corporations, labor unions and other interest groups—and wealthy individuals, too—who were previously exempt from regular limits on campaign contributions if their funds were donated directly to national party organizations for “party building,” voter drives and issues advertisements. In the 2002 election, for example, the Republican Jewish Coalition spent $200,000 on campaign ads supporting the re-election of the president’s brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who faced a spirited Democratic challenge. Under the McCain legislation only so-called “issues” groups such as these Jewish organizations are not subject to limits. Forward pointed out: “As long as the groups are independent of the parties and candidates do not ‘coordinate’ their activities with them, their contributions remain unrestricted.” This means a wide-ranging number of Jewish political action committees can now spend untold amounts of money working to elect or defeat candidates. Although top Jewish organizations such as the Anti- Defamation League (ADL) of B’nai B’rith and the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee target offending politicians for destruction, these organizations do not formally involve themselves in election campaigns or donate money to political figures. However, it is an “open secret” that dozens of other Jewish political organizations rely on “a wink and a nod” from the ADL and AIPAC to determine whom they should support (or oppose) financially. There is only one portion of the McCain-Feingold legislation that Jewish groups had a problem with, an amendment authored by the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) which banned electioneering ads by groups 60 days before an election and 30 days before a primary. However, Forward noted that theWellstone amendment “is considered the most susceptible to a challenge on First Amendment grounds” and is therefore likely to be struck down anyway. Wellstone was Jewish. Forward noted, in addition, that the so-called “reform” legislation was “considered a boon not only for the Jewish interest groups, but also for ideologically based groups who appear poised to troll for soft funds in Jewish precincts.” As an example, Forward pointed out that one such group that would likely benefit is the New Democratic Network, an outfit established by Sen. Joe Lieberman (IConn.), who actually ended up being booted out of the Democratic Party in his party’s 2006 Senate primary and who won reelection as an independent and is now backing his good friend McCain’s presidential campaign. Lieberman’s front man, Simon Rosenberg, told Forward that his group will not be specifically targeting the Jewish community but will be “making a national push and working in NewYork.” However, Forward candidly acknowledged that Rosenberg’s references to his target audience were actually little more than “code words for looking for Jewish donors.” About the so-called “reform” measures, Ira Forman of the National Jewish Democratic Council said that “The Jewish community is quite flexible and has the capability to become early adopters of any new system. Early adopters have an advantage over other people.” Forman said that “the only thing” that would undermine the role of Jewish contributors to election campaigns would be “total public financing.” However, Forman said that he was not worried about that, since “small-state Democrats would never accept it.” Anyone familiar with the history and record of McCain would not be surprised that he should be the one responsible for enacting such obviously biased legislation designed to benefit the political power of the pro-Israel lobby. In fact, as AFP pointed out in an in-depth article on Feb. 4, 2008, McCain owes his entire career to the indirect sponsorship of the powerful organized-crime-enriched family of-liquor billionaire Edgar Bronfman, head of the World Jewish Congress. McCain’s chief backer in Arizona politics, Kemper Marley, was a front man for the Bronfman family and McCain’s own family beer distribution fortune came through this connection. In addition, much of McCain’s own campaign money has come from a clique of groups and individuals all of whom have close ties to the Israeli lobby, including: organized crime-linked gambling interests in Las Vegas, international bankers such as Goldman Sachs, and Hollywood figures such as the late mob-linked LewWasserman. McCain’s father, the late Adm. John McCain, was a key player in the official U.S. government cover-up of Israel’s murder of 34 American sailors aboard the USS Liberty on June 8, 1967.